Center Stage: The aftermath
by Seyi
Summary: A continuation of the movie. Jody joins Cooper's company and flourishes in her relationshp with Charlie as well as her dance career, and Cooper struggles with residual feelings for a woman he can never have. RR! PLEASE! UPDATED! (Sorry for delay)
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in the movie "Center Stage." I just enjoy using them to my own sick ends.  
  
Rating: PG-13.  
  
"Dance! Dance! Dance! Dance!.........."  
  
Jody Sawyer executed pirouette after pirouette, her toes throbbing as she spun with increasing speed on the surface of the stage. The lights were hot and blinding, the applause of the audience intensifying with each turn.  
  
"Dance! Dance! Dance! Dance!"  
  
Jody spun faster and faster, growing more out of control with each step. Her ankles began to twist, and she felt herself falling off pointe, though she desperately tried to summon strength into her leg muscles, so as to hold her up.  
  
"No!" she gasped, as she felt her right ankle wrench. "I can't be injured! I'm a dancer! I...." she saw Erik, his good-natured face nearly a blur, trying to get to her, to catch her in time, but his crutches slowed him down. "I'm sorry..." he whispered, his face blurring. Eva was flitting around the stage with Sergei, as though they hadn't heard, and Cooper....where WAS Cooper? She screamed his name out, as she felt her leg give way.  
  
Then all of a sudden she was in Charlie's strong grasp- off her feet, the ankle saved just in time. He looked at her, and smiled.  
  
And then she woke up.  
  
Jody sat up in bed, her slender body covered with a sheen of cold sweat. Quickly she flipped on the switch by her bed, flooding the room with light. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she headed for the small adonjing bathroom, testing her ankles carefully as she walked. Though her feet were sore from the intense night of performing, they were fine. She sucked in her breath, splashing water on her face, and glancing at the clock. Five-fifteen.  
  
"Eva?" she whispered timidly, tiptoeing into the room that now contained only two girls- Maureen, their former roommate, had moved out the night before, after the show. Eva Rodriguez was a monster in the morning, but she was even bitchier if she missed the six-o-clock breakfast, and THAT would last the entire day. "Eva!"  
  
"What the hell, woman........" Eva groaned, rolling over and looking up. "You had BETTER be near death, 'cause that's the ONLY excuse you can have for waking me up in the middle of the damned night...."  
  
"It's almost twenty after five. Breakfast is STILL at six." Jody pulled her nightshirt over her head and took off for the shower, tossing the aforementioned garment on her roommate's head and ignoring the litany of curses that followed her across the room. "Get up. I'll be out in ten minutes."  
  
At exactly six-o-clock, both girls were walking down the hall towards the café, Jody holding Eva up by the arm. "You'd think Jonathan would push classes forward today," mumbled Eva. "I mean, we were all up till, like freakin' four in the morning. The man's a sadist."  
  
Jodie was inclined to agree, but she had bigger things to think about. "I've got to find an apartment by next Friday," she said, half to herself, half to Eva.  
  
"Jonathan isn't letting you stay?"  
  
"No. I'm even lucky I'm being allowed to stay until next week. Now that I'm in Cooper's company..." She paused and shook her head. "I have no business being on campus here."  
  
Eva rolled her eyes, but she had nothing to say- Jonathan WAS being generous in even letting her stay for an extended period of time. Both girls reached the cafeteria and ate a quick breakfast of fruit and bagels. Then they headed to the studio. "You HAVE to say hello to everyone before you go out," Eva said.  
  
"What about Jonathan?"  
  
"Screw Jonathan. We're early, anyway."  
  
Both girls entered the studio to find Erik, Sergei, Charlie, and other newly accepted members of the company warming up at the barre. Instead of the usual silence that was in the room, excited voices were bouncing off the walls, talking about present, past and future plans.  
  
Erik saw them first and greeted them loudly. "What's up, my divas?" he did an awkward little spin on his crutches and attempted to fall at Jody and Eva's feet. "Omigosh, I am, like, your biggest fans," he said in his best 'groupie' voice. "I've been watching you since I was, like, BORN! I mean, you are like, totally awesome!!"  
  
Eva giggled and immediately took up the role, inserting a cigarette from her pocket between her glossy lips. "MOVE. WHERE are my bodyguards?" she pushed them each aside with a slipper-clad foot , and strutted forward. "What's this? The floor isn't swept, the barre isn't gold- I'M ALLERGIC TO WOOD, REMEMBER???, and WHERE are those blue M&Ms I requested???" the other students, most of them laughing, milled around her, pretending to do her bidding.  
  
Jody, who was laughing to hard to move, pushed each of the guys away with a high-heeled white sandal, one that Erik regarded with approval from his position on the floor. "Hey, cute shoes." With his trademark ear-to-ear grin, he pushed himself upward and leaned back on his crutches, beginning to sing in a slightly nasal tenor:  
  
"Hey, pretty baby, with the high heels on...."  
  
"Oh, stop!" embarrassed, Jody tried to make a break for the door, but Erik caught her and spun her out in the middle of the floor. "You give me fever like I've never, ever known..."  
  
Charlie grabbed her around the waist, letting his fingers slide to her hips as he dipped her forward in their dance sequence from the night before. Although he was dancing Cooper's part, his hands were just as strong and sure. Giggling now, Jody tried to escape, but Charlie lifted her over his head, grinning all the while. Eva had joined Erik on the song with a VERY loud but VERY unsuccessful alto part, and they were launching into the chorus.  
  
"...that you're the one for me, the way you make me feel!"  
  
"The way ya make me feel!" The rest of the class echoed the chorus, dancing to the imaginary music, leaping, spinning and dancing all over the room, looking like an out-of-control scene from Fame. Charlie dropped her gently onto her toes and spun her into a pirouette, allowing her to spin directly back into Erik's arms. He dipped her backwards, still grooving to his imaginary beat, and spun her back to Charlie, who caught her up in his arms and catapulted her straight towards the outstretched arms of Sergei, who was standing by the door.  
  
Squealing with laughter, Jody closed her eyes and threw out her arms, feeling Sergei's hands close firmly around her waist, feeling him dipping her backwards. She laughed out loud, not even noticing that the singing had stopped.  
  
"Miss Sawyer."  
  
Startled, Jody looked up, into the eyes of Jonathan Reeves, who had apparently strolled into his classroom at that MOST inappropriate time, and who'd reached out and grabbed her instead of Sergei. The aforementioned Russian was mouthing "sorry!" from behind Jonathan's back.  
  
"Oh, God," she muttered under her breath, face flaming. She caught sight of herself in the mirror and silently groaned. Her hair, which had been smooth and perfect that morning was tangled up, and her previously smooth green sundress was bunched up around her thighs. Her sandals, which she'd lost mid-pirouette, were lying in a corner, and her face was only a couple shades lighter than Jonathan's dark red tee. Erik was furtively trying to hide them (her sandals) behind his pant leg, as if she could get into any more trouble than she already was.  
  
Jonathan set her on her feet, watching without a hint of amusement as she furtively attempted to right both her hair and her dress. "Perhaps you should find something to do, mademoiselle," he said, coolly. "And, Erik," he said, turning suddenly as he was trying to sneak out the back, "unless you wish to warm up on your crutches, you need to escort Miss Sawyer out."  
  
Both of them, heads hanging, blushing profusely, moved as fast as possible. When they were about a quarter of the way down the hall, they froze at the sound of Jonathan's voice. "Ah, Miss Sawyer?"  
  
She turned around, heart pounding.  
  
"You might need these." He placed a pair of white sandals outside the door, and then closed it with a bang.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****************  
  
"I CANNOT believe Jonathan saw me!!!" Jody cried for the fifth time.  
  
She and Erik were sitting in the Hard Rock Café, drowning their sorrows in huge, disproportioned sundaes.  
  
"You were really tearing up the dance floor, though," Erik tried to be consoling. He spooned up another rivulet of butterscotch sauce and peanut- butter ice cream, filling his mouth and licking the resulting dribble off his pinkie.  
  
It didn't help.  
  
"But when he caught me!!" Jody was still hysterical. "I looked like a total idiot, didn't I?"  
  
"That you did."  
  
Jody fired him a freezing look, to which he shrugged. "Look, I'm all about honesty."  
  
Jody stood up and threw three ones down beside her half-eaten sundae. "I'm outta here. I need to find an apartment, like, NOW. Jonathan is probably having all my things thrown out on the sidewalk."  
  
Erik shrugged and grabbed his crutches, swinging to his feet. "Let me hobble along. I need to do something to stay in shape, and sitting around eating sundaes won't help me much. This baby doesn't come off for at least another month," he nodded at the soft cast on his foot.  
  
"Okay. We'll go halves on a cab."  
  
The two grabbed a taxi at the corner and clambered inside, relaxing in the comfortably padded air-conditioned interior. They sat in silence for a while, Jody stealing glances at Erik all the while over the classifieds in the paper. His long, thick lashes were beginning to droop over his eyes. "Not much here," she murmured. " When did apartments become so expensive?"  
  
"Mmhm....that's nice," murmured Erik, eyes still shut.  
  
"I must be something of a bore," she said with a laugh. "I'm definitely not as entertaining as Eva."  
  
Erik started, and then laughed himself. "No, not at all. I guess I'm still tired from last night...hey, isn't that Cooper?" he leaned forward, staring intently at a tall, thin blond dressed in only a pair of paint-spattered jeans, his chest covered with splotches of the same color.  
  
"Yeah...that's him, all right." Jody leaned across him to get a better look. He was directing a group of painters. "I wonder what he's up to. "Hey, stop the cab!"  
  
Both got out at the curb, heading for Cooper. "Coop!"  
  
He turned around, forehead wrinkled, and they hurried across the street to where he was standing.  
  
"What's going on?" he asked, casually, when they reached him.  
  
"We're cool."  
  
"Erik, how's the ankle?"  
  
"As well as can be expected."  
  
They stood in silence for a couple of seconds. Then Jody spoke. "Okay, Cooper, you're standing here covered in paint. What are you up to?"  
  
Cooper grinned and beckoned to the building beside him. "Come and see for yourself."  
  
Read and review, please. Will update soon! 


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Except Jonathan Reeves. I own him. In my dreams.  
  
Rating: PG-13 to be safe for now.  
  
"This way!" Cooper's voice, enthused, fell over his shoulder as he wove quickly through the crowd on the street. He led them to a small building on the corner, a dingy-looking edifice with a plate-glass window so dirty that it was impossible to see in. Walking inside, he let the door slam behind him.  
  
With a shrug in Erik's direction in answer to his questioning look, Jody pushed open the protesting door and followed Cooper indoors, holding the door open for Erik.  
  
The inside of the building was the exact opposite. Scrubbed clean and painted a blinding white, it shone brightly under a glow of white light coming from bulbs shaded with simple glass covers. The room was perevaded with the sharp smell of new paint. "That's just the base," Cooper confided. "We put it on this morning. It's actually gonna be painted this really light gray."  
  
He opened another small room. This one was tiled, with a row of beat-up lockers. "Locker room," he said. "Showers are in the back. I only have one, so the guys and girls are going to have to take turns." He turned on his heel and was off again, Jody and Erik hot on his heels. He paused at another small room, this one with a snack machine, juice machine, and long lunchroom table.  
  
"Lunchroom, obviously."  
  
Cooper then led them towards another room, this one with double doors. "This is the main studio," he said, reaching for the door. They were startled at that exact minute when a crash ricocheted off the walls of the building, followed by a groan and a litany of curses.  
  
"Damn!" Cooper hissed. "What the hell are they doing in there? Wait a second," he said, and jogged in the direction of the crash. "What's going on?!" they heard his voice fading away down the hallway.  
  
"Ooookay," Erik laughed and gestured to the door. "Shall we?"  
  
"We shall." Jody was curious as to what her new studio might look like. She pushed the door open and walked inside, stopping in amazement.  
  
The room was the ideal dance studio- heavily lighted, a smooth, polished wood floor, mirrors lining the walls, a barre that circled the entire room. A baby grand stood in the corner, smooth, black polished wood, and a large sound system was set up in the corner, speakers up on the four corners of the ceiling.  
  
Jody took all of this in with a brief glance. However, it was the solitary figure in the east corner of the room that caught her attention.  
  
The man standing in the corner was short, and very skinny, dressed almost scruffily in a knee-length, soiled blue shirt, and a pair of faded black khakis, ripped at both knees. He wore a small black cross around his neck, and was bent over backwards, chest arched to the sky, fingers nearly touching the floor around his neck.  
  
He was clearly of Asian descent, with ivory skin, high, high cheekbones, full lips, and an unusual hairstyle in his long, thick black dreadlocks that nearly touched the small of his back. When he opened his eyes, looking up to the ceiling, they were a startling shade of dark green, a color impossible to fake by contacts. He twisted round on one foot, looking straight at them. Then he pointed, and smiled.  
  
Erik made a move as if to ask the man who he was, but all of a sudden, music started, startling in it's abruptness. The guy immediately leaped to his feet, beginning a series of spins, leaps, and steps to an unusual drumbeat full of breaks, and offbeats. It grew alternatingly fast and slow, stopping and starting at certain points, rising and falling, quickening the blood of all who heard it.  
  
The guy continued dancing as if they hadn't even walked in, his movements becoming even more energetic. He spun and spun, then landed in a perfect split, right in front of Jody, holding out his hand with an impish smile. With the other, he pulled off his shirt, revealing a body laced with long, corded muscles, a thin sheen of sweat on them. She heard Erik suck in his breath. "Dance?"  
  
"Umm-" Jody backed up, more than a little freaked out. She had no clue who this guy was. "I don't think so. Who are you, anyway? Cooper-"  
  
"C'mon," his voice was slightly rusty, as if he wasn't used to talking, but low and husky. He snapped his fingers, and the beat started again. He then grabbed her hand, pulling her gently but insistently out on the dance floor.  
  
Jody automatically took a pointe position, despite her sandals, and began shimmying to the beat. She couldn't have stopped even if she wanted to. His leading was perfect, and he lifted her higher in the air than she'd ever been lifted in her life. Her hair came loose again, falling around her shoulders, and she glanced into the mirror, shocked at her reflection.  
  
The girl in the mirror moved smoothly, sensually, without any reservation or 'cuteness' brought on by self conscious dancing, entwined with her partner in an intimate manner, her normally pale skin looking flushed and tan against his bare chest, lips parted slightly, eyes misty. He wrapped her legs round his waist and dipped her backward so that her hair brushed the floor, and her fingers glazed the wood, all while moving in perfect time to the thickening tempo. Jody's thighs were throbbing, but all she could feel was the pulsating beat of the drum as it passed through her body, causing her to feel the music and move in ways she never thought possible.  
  
THIS.... was dance.  
  
All too suddenly, the music stopped, and Jody somehow found herself on her feet, breathing hard, her chest heaving. The guy was standing in front of her, still supporting her by the hand. He smiled, then flicked a dreadlock out of his eyes, the green boring into hers.  
  
"Come," he said, low. "We do it again."  
  
He pulled her into his arms and began to move. She did as well, powerless to stop. They were interrupted when the door slammed open, and he released her quickly. Cooper was standing at the doorway, grinning.  
  
"Looks like you've found your leading man."  
  
All the exercise Jody had been getting suddenly caught up to her with a rush, and her legs nearly collapsed. She sat in the floor, staring at the guy. "Oh, my GOD," she said, rubbing her right calf. "Who are you?"  
  
"This," Cooper said, as if announcing royalty, "is Stephan."  
  
He gave them both a slight smile, eyes on the floor.  
  
"I found him dancing in the subway, and he's part of the company now," Cooper said simply. "Stephan, this is Jody and Erik."  
  
He shook both their hands, then made a hasty exit.  
  
"Not too talkative, hunh?" Erik said.  
  
Cooper smiled slightly. "He dances his ass off," he said. "and that's all I require."  
  
Erik laughed and launched himself to the piano, sitting down on the bench and stretching out his injured leg. "So, is he gay or straight?" he asked. "Inquiring minds want to know."  
  
Cooper and Jody both laughed at Erik's matter-of-fact tone. "I don't know, you'll have to ask him," Cooper replied. He looked at Jody. "Up for a little practice?"  
  
Jody shook her head, still slightly out of breath. "Are you kidding me? Stephan wore me out. Plus, I've still got to find an apartment."  
  
"Jonathan tossed you out?"  
  
"Not quite." Jody explained the morning's events to Cooper, who laughed long and loud. "So I'm looking for an apartment," she finished.  
  
Cooper wiped a tear form his eye. "Wish I could have seen you going all wild," he said. "Jonathan already thinks I'm a detrimental influence on his dancers. He'd probably go nuts if he saw Erik here."  
  
Jody smirked. "Well, we won't stay and absorb any of your evil influences any longer. I still have to find a place to stay."  
  
"And I have to get back for my music theory class," Erik hoisted himself up.  
  
Cooper stood up and headed for the lights, to turn them off. Erik walked out of the room ahead of the two in order to hail a cab- he had to get back to the ABA headquarters. "Why don't you bunk with me?"  
  
Jody stared at Cooper in shock. "What?"  
  
"I said, why don't you come bunk with me? Just for a few days, till you get settled."  
  
"I- you-" to say that Jody was bamboozled by his offer would be a complete understatement. How could he even suggest such a- after all their history-  
  
"Relax, it's not what you think," Cooper said, raising his palms. "It's genuinely a offer BETWEEN FRIENDS, okay? I know about you and Charlie. Talk it over with him first or whatever. I just figured, if you needed a place to crash-" he shrugged and moved towards the door.  
  
"Um, Cooper-" Jody truly didn't know what to say.  
  
"You'd chip in for rent and food as long as you're there, of course," Cooper said. "And I have a roommate, so you won't have to worry about me jumping your bones in the middle of the night or something."  
  
Jody blushed, then scowled. Cooper could always read her like a book. "You have a roommate?" she hadn't remembered seeing anyone else the night she'd- well, she didn't want to think about THAT.  
  
"Yeah," Cooper said, offhand. "Stephan's moving in with me."  
  
Jody stared at him in disbelief. "You're taking in some guy off the street?"  
  
Cooper gave her a look. "He doesn't have fleas or anything, okay? And I happen to know plenty about him."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"None of your business. It's not like you live with him or anything."  
  
Jody chewed her lip as she considered the offer. It was risky- after all, this guy could be some serial killer, for all she knew, but Cooper sounded so confident. Plus, she did want to be out of the ABA dorms by the next day. And if she only stayed with Cooper for a week or two.....  
  
"Fine," she heard herself saying aloud. "I'll do it."  
  
Cooper stopped, his hand on the doorknob. "What?"  
  
"I said, I'll do it."  
  
Cooper waited for minute, then rolled his eyes. "Don't go overboard with the gratitude," he said, sarcastically.  
  
"Oh, shut up. I'm thinking." Jody picked up her purse and walked towards the door, Cooper following and locking her out. "Here's my apartment key," he said, handing it to her. "I'll be out late."  
  
Jody nodded her thanks, took the key and headed down the street, still thinking. She would have to call a cab to help her move her things downtown- thank God, she only had her dance gear, clothes and a few trinkets from home to be moved. ABA's super-small dorms had given her THAT advantage, at least. She would also have to say goodbye to everyone and tell Charlie she was going and...  
  
"Oh, my God," she groaned. Charlie. What was he going to think about all this?? 


	3. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I do not own anything and will not attempt to steal. My parents raised me right.  
  
Rating: PG-13.  
  
Jody rolled over in bed, unable to sleep. Too much had happened that day. She rolled over and squinted in the darkness at the quartz alarm clock on her bedside table. It read three-fifteen.  
  
Jody groaned and slammed her face against her pillow. If she didn't get some sleep soon, she'd be completely dysfunctional the next day- and she didn't want to do that. She squeezed her eyes shut and bade sleep to come, but it didn't work. Her surroundings were way too unusual, and she had trouble sleeping in new places.  
  
Rising to her feet, Jody slid them into a pair of slippers and padded out into the living room. She crossed it and easily found the kitchen in the dark, flipping on a light and opening the fridge.  
  
"Mind if I join you?"  
  
Jody straightened up immediately, startled by the voice. Her hands slipped from the bottle of juice she was holding, but luckily she managed to catch it before it fell to the floor.  
  
Cooper was standing there, hair tousled, dressed in only a pair of gray sweats, held up by a threadbare drawstring. His eyes, though hooded, looked sharp and alert. Apparently she wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep.  
  
"You startled me," she murmured, realizing too late how obvious she sounded. Cooper smiled; then he leaned over and took the juice from her hands. He crossed the kitchen in a single ballet leap, then poured the juice into two jelly glasses he pulled from the cabinet above the sink.  
  
"Here you go," he handed it to her across the kitchen island. Then he went digging around in the refrigerator.  
  
"What are you doing?" Jody said to his backside.  
  
"I'm hungry." He pulled a pack of pre-packaged turkey, three cheese slices, and a jar of mayonnaise out, then tossed them onto the table, pulling a loaf of Wonder bread from the top of the fridge as he did so. "Want a sandwich?"  
  
At three in the morning? Jody shook her head. Then her stomach growled loudly, as if in abject disagreement. Cooper smirked, and she laughed good- naturedly at herself. "Guess I do want one." She moved forward, stopping Cooper from spreading the mayo on a slice of bread. "Not THIS crap, though. Let me show you how to make a real sandwich."  
  
Cooper shrugged and took a seat at the table, chewing on a piece of turkey, to tide him over till the food was ready. Jody shoved four slices of bread into the toaster, then went to work, digging in the fridge. She found mustard, lettuce, half of a slicing tomato, half and onion and part of the carcass of a rotisserie chicken.  
  
Five minutes later, she set her finished project in front of Cooper, who dug into it with gusto. She looked her own sandwich; chicken, tomato, onion, cheese, mayo and mustard, all layered on four pieces of white toast. Biting into it, she stared at her tablemate, who was already beginning on the other half of HIS sandwich. She handed him a napkin with raised eyebrows.  
  
Cooper took it and wiped his mouth. "Thanks," he said, sheepishly. "This is really good. What do you call it?"  
  
"A club sandwich, I guess," Jody answered with her mouth full. "It tastes better with bacon. My dad makes them the best."  
  
Cooper nodded and took a sip of his juice. "You and I are probably the only ballet dancers on the face of the earth who'll eat like this in the middle of the night. I'm impressed that you attempt it."  
  
Jody rolled her eyes. "I've always been like this. High metabolism, I guess. I never gain weight- that's probably the only good thing about my body where ballet is concerned."  
  
"But you don't have to worry about that anymore," Cooper leaned forward, pale eyes earnest. "You're a principle now."  
  
Feeling suddenly shy, Jody busied herself with her sandwich, and Cooper got up and placed his glass and plate in the sink. He burped. "Sorry."  
  
Jody smiled. "That's okay." She watched as Cooper strode over to the small tape deck that stood on the counter. He fiddled with it, and a soft jazz tune filled the air.  
  
Jody opened her mouth to protest, not wanting to wake Stephan, but the music was so relaxing, and her stomach so full, that she rested her chin in her hands, staring dreamily out the window at the dark night sky. Cooper, his back still to her, raked one hand through his hair.  
  
"You know," he said, low. "I've never really apologized. For the last time you were here, you know, and-"  
  
"It's okay," Jody said, abruptly, cutting him off. "It was as much my fault as it was yours, and we're over that now."  
  
Cooper nodded; his back was still turned. "Ever heard this piece?" he asked.  
  
Jody shook her head. "Never."  
  
"I didn't think so. Close your eyes and listen to it."  
  
Jody did so.  
  
"What does it make you think of? Don't answer right away."  
  
Jody thought for a minute, her head filling with the soft, slow, languid tempo of the jazz, the instruments moving in and moving out, slowing and quickening, making her feel alternating warm and cold.  
  
"It sounds like....a hot summer night," she said, slowly. "A smoke-filled lounge with the AC on the blink. In New Orleans. It has to be New Orleans. A jazz singer, a woman, maybe- in a dark blue sequined gown, maybe dark red. And a martini. Two olives. "  
  
"Two OLIVES?" Cooper chuckled quietly in the darkness, and she laughed with him. "You got the gist of it, though." He turned the music down. "I see, in the beginning, a classical dance," he said. "Maybe to the Ascot Race theme in My Fair Lady. I want it to get across to the audience that these are rich bastards." He paused.  
  
"And?"  
  
"Well, there's this guy," he said, cheeks dimpling. "Young. Impetuous. He goes to this club one night, and sees this lounge singer and dancer. She'll really have to stand out among the others- maybe she'll wear no jewelry, while the others have a lot on- or something. Anyway, he's in love, but she's already involved with this guy who's more in her social class."  
  
Jody nodded, already mesmerized, both by his voice and by the story. "Sounds a little like "Dancing in New York," she mentioned.  
  
Cooper rolled his eyes. "Just listen, willya? So. like I was saying. He steals her away and takes her home with him. That'll be an opportunity for a great pas de deux, and all that. Then she'll meet his parents, family and friends." He paused to take a breath.  
  
"In the end," Cooper continued, "There'll be this huge dance number with all the family and friends of the rich guy- and the audience will see how painfully she's trying to fit in, how hard it is for her. Her timing will be off. She won't dance as well. Her outfit will be a little different. More..common. Anyway, she'll realize she's not for his world, and she'll leave." His voice, warm, rich and resonant as the cellos strings pulsating in the music, hung in the air.  
  
"Does the guy go after her?"  
  
Cooper looked at her and smiled. "Haven't thought that far ahead yet."  
  
They fell into a companionable silence for a while, listening to the jazz; then Cooper looked at Jody and laughed outright. "Your feet are moving, you know."  
  
"They are?" Jody stared down at them in surprise, and sure enough, she was standing in fifth position. "Oh, jeez. I need sleep."  
  
"Me, too. Good night, Jody Sawyer."  
  
"Sleep well, Cooper Nielson."  
  
He reached for the light, and all was dark.  
  
**********************************************************  
  
"JOOODDDDYYYYY!!!"  
  
Jody stood on tiptoe, squinting as she looked down the sidewalk. A tall, slender girl was flying down towards her, hair flying, with a shorter guy in tow.  
  
"Hey, Eva," she said, laughing, as they reached her. "Hey, Charlie."  
  
"Hey, yourself." Charlie walked up to her, kissing her gently, as Eva stood on the sidelines and rolled her eyes, tapping her foot.  
  
"Thank you SO much for not being mad," she whispered into his jacket lapel, her eyes filling. Charlie had been shocked when Jody told him about her living arrangements, but he'd listened to Jody's explanation patiently. "Look, I trust you, okay?" he said, cutting off the elaborate apology speech she'd prepared. "Do whatever you have to do."  
  
God, he's a good guy, Jody thought, looking up at him, holding him tightly around the waist. I hope nothing messes this up.  
  
"Oh, good LORD," Eva said impatiently, breaking the embrace. "Can you two please stop now? We've got to get going. Charlie, get us a couple Metrocards for the bus while we look for some coffee."  
  
"Your wish is my command, milady." Charlie took the two wrinkled five- dollar bills that Eva offered him and headed for the corner store.  
  
"So, where exactly is this place?" Eva said, as the girls purchased coffee and sticky rolls from a vendor.  
  
"Downtown Queens. We'll have to take the train. I don't think a bus goes all the way out there."  
  
"Great. I come all the way from Bo-freakin'ston to get eaten alive by a subway rat."  
  
"Jonathan would love that."  
  
"Wouldn't he?" Laughing, the girls headed for Charlie as he emerged from the store, and the three headed for the subway station.  
  
In less than an hour's time, they had arrived at their destination, and Jody glanced nervously at her boyfriend as they neared the place. "You really didn't have to come, you know," she said, sideways, out of Eva's earshot.  
  
"And miss seeing Cooper's studio?" Charlie chuckled. "No way. Plus, I want to see what kind of company my girl's dancing principal for." He draped a playful arm around her shoulders.  
  
They reached the studio in minutes.  
  
"Wow, nice place," Eva said, once they had gotten inside. "Didn't look like much from the outside, but..."  
  
"Jody?"  
  
Jody turned in time to see Cooper standing there dressed in tights and a large blue flannel shirt, a bemused grin on his face. "You brought company, I see."  
  
"They wanted to see the studio," she began, but Eva had already sprung forward, grabbing Cooper's hand.  
  
"C'mon, Nielson, give me a tour of this place."  
  
Cooper did accordingly, and as it had happened with Jody and Erik, the trio ended up in the studio.  
  
"Damn, this studio is amazing, Cooper," Eva remarked, testing out the slick wood floor with her bare toes (she had kicked her sandals off.) "Jonathan would kill for this lighting. I mean, he would literally commit MURDER. He bitches about ours all the time."  
  
"How is my main competition anyway?" Cooper asked lightly. "What's he been up to?"  
  
Eva dropped to her heels and sat on the floor, swinging her feet up into Cooper's lap. "We-ell..." She grinned mischievously and glanced at Charlie for support. "Should I tell him?"  
  
Charlie gave her a slightly disapproving look. "It's probably just a rumor, Eva."  
  
"A rumor? Gossip?" Jody leaned forward over her boyfriend, eyes sparkling. "DO tell, do TELL."  
  
"You, too?" Charlie stared at Jody in disbelief. "You two are SO sad. Cooper, don't you-"  
  
"So, what happened?" Cooper stood up and squeezed in between Eva and Jody, pushing Charlie to the side. His eyes were gleaming with interest; it was obvious that he hadn't heard anything form the ABA since he'd started his company.  
  
"- join in." Charlie finished his sentence and rolled his eyes to the ceiling in disgust. "Forget it. You're just as bad as the girls."  
  
"Quiet!" Both Jody and Cooper spoke in unison. "Go ahead, Eva." Charlie rolled his eyes heavenward once more, though it was clear that he was trying not to laugh. "You people are ridiculous. I'm going to the snack machine." He got up and left.  
  
"Weeeeeellllllll," Eva said, clearly enjoying her moment in the spotlight, "I'll tell you about Maureen first. Remember her boyfriend? That cute waiter guy?"  
  
"Of course," Jody said. "He was so-"  
  
"Yeah, I KNOW," Eva said, rolling her eyes in delight. "SERIOUS eye candy, though I'll die before I tell Maureen that. Anyway, at our ABC congratulatory banquet yesterday, she was there as an usher 'cause she works in the office- I guess they were a little shorthanded. Anyway, she saw Maureen's boyfriend and totally flipped."  
  
Jody gasped. "Are you serious?"  
  
Eva nodded. "Yup. She started screaming on him that HE was the real reason her daughter quit ballet, and she hated stupid boys like him who ruined the career plans of young women, and he should be castrated."  
  
"Oh my God." Jody leaned back in shock. Even Cooper, who NEVER looked surprised, was looking at her with raised eyebrows.  
  
"That's not the worst of it," Eva continued gleefully. "She called him a hormonally charged, testosteronally overloaded dick in Nikes, and then she overturned his hor d' ouvers tray!"  
  
"You're joking."  
  
"I kid you not, Sawyer. The woman is certi-freakin'-fiably insane. When she was finished with him, she stomped out, giving me a dagger look as she passed me, I might add."  
  
"Oh my GOD!" Jody shook her head. "Poor Maureen."  
  
"I'll say." Eva shook her head, her ponytail bouncing with her enthusiasm. "I never liked the girl much- although we're cool now- but I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."  
  
"Enough about Maureen," Cooper said, impatiently. "What else is going on?"  
  
"Gallina and Sergei are planning their wedding already, but neither of them want to move. Sergei is definitely good enough to get into the San Francisco ballet, but he doesn't want to leave New York- not that I blame him. I mean, leave the ABA for a ballet school atop a fucking fault line? I'd stay here, too!"  
  
"So what did they decide?"  
  
"They're kind of at a stalemate right now."  
  
"I give 'em six months," Cooper said cynically. Jody shoved him. Eva smirked, then continued.  
  
"Okay. Here's the BIGGEST news." Eva leaned forward, eyes glimmering, a conspirator's grin on her pretty face. "Guess what super-famous, super-rich ballerina is in the family way, UNPLANNED, I might add?"  
  
Jody gasped. "No!"  
  
Eva sat back on her haunches and nodded. "Yup. Kathleen's PREGNANT." When neither one of them made a comment, staring at her, open-mouthed, she laughed. "Yeah, that's pretty much how I reacted." Cooper wasn't laughing along with her. In fact, his face had turned a dead white. "It can't....I mean, technically, it's just a rumor, right?"  
  
"I SAW the medical report when I was in the nutritionist's office. It was lying on her desk." When neither one of them responded to that, she continued. "Looks like Mr. Reeves wasn't as careful as he should have been, huh?"  
  
"I would say so," Jody said, shocked. "That's going to cut at least two years off her dancing career, if it doesn't end it completely."  
  
"I'm telling you." Eva shook her head again. "You'd think they'd be more careful, you know?"  
  
Without a word, Cooper got up abruptly and headed for the door, his face still alarmingly low in color.  
  
"Cooper?" Jody asked. "What's the matt-"  
  
He made a slashing gesture in the air with his palm and pushed the door open with such great force that it hit the wall opposite it with a terrific crash, shaking the entire building and nearly braining poor Charlie, who was walking in with a Diet Coke.  
  
"Hey, what's the big idea?!?" Charlie demanded, shaking Coke droplets off his shirt.  
  
Cooper ignored him and headed for the front door, teeth clenched, hair flying. He strode out onto the street in his slippers and dance gear, sending a small flock of pigeons feeding in front scurrying for cover. Eva, Charlie, and Jody, who had run to the front door, watched him stalk to the edge of the sidewalk, hail a cab, and take off down the street.  
  
"Whoa," muttered Eva.  
  
"I'll say," Jody said, eyes wide.  
  
**I'll update soon! Find out what happens to Cooper! Review review review!!!*** 


	4. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The Man owns everything.  
  
Rating: PG-13, still.  
  
"Oh, my God, he's flipped again." Eva muttered.  
  
Charlie said nothing, but the look on his face showed that he was inclined to agree with her.  
  
"We have to stop him," Jody said with conviction.  
  
Eve shot her an incredulous look. "And how do propose we do that?" she asked. "Wait for a red light and then grand jete in front of the cab?"  
  
Jody ignored her friend's sarcasm and grabbed Charlie's hand, yanking him across the sidewalk. "We can hail a cab and catch him at the school. Come on!"  
  
"How are you so sure that's where he's going?" Charlie yelled, tripping along behind her.  
  
"Where else would he go?" Frantic now, Jody stepped into the street and flagged a cab down with her free hand. Charlie yanked her back as the yellow vehicle came screaming up to the curb, braking sharply. "Jody- are you crazy? Do you WANT to get hit?"  
  
Jody ignored her boyfriend's protests and threw herself into the cab's backseat. Charlie slid in after her and Eva barely made it in before Jody slammed the door shut. The cab began to slide away from the curb.  
  
"Jody," Eva huffed, trying to disentangle herself from Charlie (in her rush to jump in the cab, she'd landed right on his lap) "do you know how much it COSTS to ride to the ABA from here in a cab?"  
  
When he heard that, the cabbie slammed on his brakes, and all three of them jerked forward violently. Charlie hit his nose on the back of the seat.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you?!? Are you trying to KILL us?!?!" Eva screamed, rising half up in her seat. He ignored her.  
  
"This isn't gonna be one of those 'free rides,' now, is it?" he asked, glaring at the three of them through the rearview mirror.  
  
"Hell no! We'll get out here." Eva made for the door, but Jody stopped her with a hand on her arm.  
  
"Please drive on, sir- I have the money. Sorry about that- and step on it!"  
  
The cabbie looked skeptical, but after a sour look in Eva's direction, he pulled away from the curb and began to drive- thankfully, more normally this time. Jody relaxed- slightly- and gave Charlie a concerned look. He was rubbing his nose and looking slightly ticked off. "Are you okay?"  
  
"It's not broken," he said, irritably. "God, Jody, why are we doing this?"  
  
"Yeah," Eva chimed in. "If Cooper wants to go off on Jonathan again, then let him. What do you have to do with it?"  
  
Jody looked down at her hands. "If he does something.....crazy again, it'll be over for him in the ballet world. Half the community already thinks he's a nutcase."  
  
"That's because he is," Charlie muttered.  
  
Jody shot her boyfriend a look. "I know Cooper a little better than you guys, okay? I just think that as his friends, we need to stop him before he does something really foolish."  
  
"Friends?" Eva raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Eva......"  
  
"Don't 'Eva' me. Speak for yourself. Cooper's no friend of mine."  
  
"OR me," Charlie chimed in. Then his tone softened slightly. "Look, Jody, I just don't think you should get involved-"  
  
"Charlie." Jody cut him off. "We have to keep him from dong anything crazy. Please trust me. If he.......Jonathan is tolerating his leaving the company NOW, but there's no telling what will happen if he goes off and.......Jonathan has a lot of power, you guys."  
  
There was silence as the enormity of what she had just said sunk in- they knew that what she was saying was the truth.  
  
After a minute, Eva broke the silence, sitting back and tucking her hands under her head. "Well," she said with her old mischievous smile back on her face, "if we don't get there in time, at least we know we're going to see one helluva show."  
  
Jody sot her friend a Look, but couldn't suppress her own smile. "You're terrible."  
  
"I wonder why Cooper reacted so violently in the first place." Charlie mused out loud.  
  
Jody shrugged. "It's not as if he hasn't done anything like that before. Remember what happened when Kathleen got married?"  
  
"Yeah." The story had been all over New York that summer; EVERYBODY knew it. Charlie shook his head. "The guy's unstable."  
  
"Not unstable," Jody defended him. "Just hotheaded and impulsive.....okay, maybe a LITTLE unstable," she finally conceded.  
  
"Damn straight," muttered Eva.  
  
"What he needs is another girlfriend," Charlie said, grinning. "Besides YOU, that is," he said to Jody, poking her in the ribs.  
  
Jody jumped away from him, swatting him playfully. "I don't know any females that could deal with him....except maybe......." She cocked her head and gave Eva a grin that was positively diabolical.  
  
"You must be out of your mind," Eva said, calmly.  
  
Jody began laughing so hard that Charlie joined in the teasing, glad that he had gotten Jody out of her mood. "I think you two would make a cute......"  
  
"STOP!" Eva finally gave in and began to laugh herself. "He's a cute bastard, I'll give him that," she said. "But he's too conceited for me. And I tend to like my men sane. And not enamored with married ballerinas."  
  
At the mention of Kathleen, Jody sobered. "I hope we'll catch him in time," she said, worriedly. "Or that he'll calm down before gets there."  
  
"How are we so sure that's where he's going, anyway?" Charlie brought up. "He could just be going to blow off some steam somewhere, for all we know."  
  
"That's true......" Jody bit her lip, wrinkling her nose as she did so. "I didn't even think of that......"  
  
Charlie took a look at her face, then bent to kiss her, softly. "You're doing a good thing." He squeezed her shoulder gently. Truth was, he was a little hurt at the thought that Jody would go running off after Cooper at the drop of a hat- but he DID head her company. He sighed, inwardly. If only-  
  
His concentration was broken when Jody kissed him back, catching his lower lip between her teeth. "So what do I get for doing this good deed with you?" he growled, low. He grinned, then touched the side of her face.  
  
She laughed and kissed him again. "Wait and see-"and she pulled his head down......  
  
"GOD." Eva said loudly, breaking the spell. "Could you two let UP for a minute?"  
  
They laughed, separated, and sat back for the car ride.  
  
***************************************  
  
It was exactly one hour later when the cabbie pulled up to the front of the gray brick ABA building, sending them off with a middle-finger-salute when he found that they had no plans to tip him for his pains in getting there fast. Eva saluted him back with both hands, and they began to run up the steps, eyes scanning every direction.  
  
"Do you SEE him?" Jody asked, frantically.  
  
"If I did, I would mention it, wouldn't I?" Eva asked, grumpily.  
  
"Let's split up!" Jody ran in the opposite direction.  
  
After five minutes had passed and it became clear that Cooper was not outside, the trio burst through the doors of the school, stopping only to flash their ID cards at the receptionist, then dashing up to the second floor. "Oh....my.....Lord......" wheezed Eva.  
  
Jody ignored her and Charlie's theatrics and ran straight down the hall, straight for Jonathan's office. "We.....have....to...." she gasped.  
  
"Jody."  
  
The low, male voice calling her name made her freeze in her tracks. Charlie and Eva, behind her, crashed into her most ungracefully.  
  
"Jody? What are you doing here?"  
  
The threesome turned as one in time to see the sight of a tousled-haired Cooper Neilson emerge from one of the smaller studio rooms. Ironically, it was the same one that she, Charlie and himself had used, practicing "Dancing in New York" all those weeks.  
  
Jody heard Eva begin to sputter, ("you mean we came all the way here and he's not doing ANYTHING??") but Charlie retracted with his usual tact, taking Eva by the elbow and giving her a meaningful look. "I'll walk you over to the dorms, Eva," he said, and they were gone.  
  
Jody turned back to Cooper, unsure of what to say. He was looking at the floor.  
  
"You came after me."  
  
"I did. I'm sorry, but I was so worried that you would-"  
  
"Was going to. I decided not to."  
  
Cooper turned and walked back into the studio, looking tired. He was still dressed in his tights, but Jody noted that his flannel shirt was knotted around his waist, Catholic-schoolboy style, and he was shirtless. "Close the door behind you," he said, walking to the window.  
  
Jody did so and soundlessly joined him at the window.  
  
"I didn't say anything to her," he said, glancing over at Jody.  
  
"You didn't?" Thank you, God, she thought, mentally. "I......"  
  
"It's okay. You don't need to apologize." He paused, then focused his large blue eyes on her. "You don't need to apologize for anything I do."  
  
Jody smiled slightly and leaned against the windowpane, enjoying the coolness of the glass on her cheek.  
  
"Do you think I'm crazy, Jody?" Cooper's voice had gotten so low that it was almost impossible to make out his words.  
  
"Cooper, I'm sure that no one thinks you're-"  
  
"Not anyone else. Just you." Cooper glanced at her again. "Be honest."  
  
"No." Jody said without hesitation.  
  
"Sometimes I think I might be. About her, I mean." He turned away from her. "Since the day-"  
  
"That you met?"  
  
"No." Cooper turned back to her, a little smirk on his face. "I thought she was the scrawniest little thing I'd ever seen when we met. All arms and legs, and those big-ass doe eyes. She looked like a gerbil." He paused.  
  
Jody sat up on the windowsill, crossed her legs, and looked into his face, listening.  
  
"Then we danced......and it was like nothing I'd ever experienced before," Cooper said, low. "It was in the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet....I remember....she was staring down at me, like I was the only one in the world....." he swallowed.  
  
Jody rested a hand on his back, gently.  
  
"It went on from there. I've never danced with a woman who fit me so well. It's about the dance, in a way....we just....fit, you know?"  
  
"Yeah." Jody said, softly. "I know."  
  
"The news that Eva brought was kind of the last straw," Cooper said with another ironic smirk. "I truly had no idea what I was doing until I got here. Did I really look as crazy as I think I did?"  
  
"Yes. Pretty much," Jody said, gently.  
  
Cooper laughed-a short, barking sound- and suddenly reached out to her, hugging her tightly to his bare chest. He smelled like sweat, Old Spice, and cigarettes. Underneath his warm skin, she could hear his heart beating steadily.  
  
Jody waited for a moment before breaking the embrace, separating them by bracing her palms on his chest, though his arms were still around her. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked.  
  
He looked at her in the eye and gave her a rather sickly smile, then dropped his arms, noticeably avoiding the question. "You're good for me, Jody Sawyer."  
  
She smiled back, a little uneasily.  
  
"Come on....let's go."  
  
The two exited the room, though Cooper looked no less troubled than he had before. "Dance practice tonight," were his parting words as they separated on the steps.  
  
"Right," Jody muttered, watching him go.  
  
What a guy. She turned and headed for the dorms in search of Eva and Charlie. 


End file.
